Cobra Ransomware Removal Guide

Do you know what Cobra Ransomware is?

Cobra Ransomware is a dangerous computer infection that is likely to leave your computer crippled before you manage to remove it and restore your affected data. Although it is possible to get rid of Cobra Ransomware manually, it might be hard to get your files back unless you have copies of healthy data saved on an external hard drive. Ransomware infections should not be taken lightly because there is a bunch of programs out there that have not been decrypted yet, and so public decryption tools are not available. To find out more about this issue, please do not hesitate to contact us.

When we want to find out more about a particular infection, we usually need to look at its timeline and see if it is associated with previously released ransomware programs. As far as Cobra Ransomware is concerned, this program belongs to the same group of infections as Crysis Ransomware. In fact, our research shows that Cobra Ransomware is yet another version of Crysis Ransomware. However, that does not mean that we know how to decrypt the files affected by this program. Even if ransomware programs belong to the same family, of all them have different decryption keys as the individual encryption keys are all unique.

There could be several ways how this program enters target systems. First, there are always spam emails. Ransomware tends to employ the spam messages to travel around because it is relatively cheap to employ spam campaigns. Albeit the infection rate itself is not that high (quite a few users ignore spam messages or they get filtered into the Junk folder), the sheer amount of the email sent makes it up for the poor infection rate. What’s more, some of those email messages look like genuine notifications from online stores, and that makes users click them.Cobra Ransomware Removal GuideCobra Ransomware screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

For one, please remember that you can always scan the attachment before opening it. If you are not sure whether the file you downloaded is safe, but you feel you have to open it, you can use a security application to scan the file. If the security program of your choice does not detect anything suspicious, you can proceed with opening the file.

Aside from spam emails, Cobra Ransomware may also be distributed manually via corrupted Remote Desktop Protocol. Sometimes systems are connected together via remote desktop client, and if the connection is not secure, it could be corrupted by malevolent third parties. As a result, someone with the access to this connection can infect all the associated systems with Cobra Ransomware or any other malware program, for that matter.

If Cobra Ransomware manages to enter your system, it will first scan your computer looking for all the files it can encrypt. It most targets user files, as ransomware programs need system files to remain intact in order for you to connect to the Internet. However, all the user files will definitely get encrypted. And once they are affected, you will see that the filenames get changed. The ransomware adds an appendix to every single filename. The appendix contains your personal ID number (each affected computer is assigned one) and an email address. For instance, you will find such filenames: Flower.jpg.id-B4500913.[cranberry@coloredgrace.com].cobra.

If that were not enough, this ransomware program also encrypts program file extensions. It means that you will not be able to launch any of your programs once the encryption is complete. It is very likely that Cobra Ransomware does that in order to prevent you from removing it.

Like most of the ransomware programs out there, Cobra Ransomware will demand that you pay ransom in Bitcoins. It does not say how much they require you to pay. The ransom note only says that “the price depends on how fast you write to us.” So they might call the price, and users have to obey to retrieve their files.

Of course, that is definitely something you should never do. You have to remove Cobra Ransomware today by following the instructions you will find right below this description. You can also look for a public decryption tool, but if that is not on your mind, you can save all the encrypted files someplace else, and then start anew. If you have an external backup, you can transfer all the copies of your files back into your PC once the infection is gone.

How to Delete Cobra Ransomware

  1. Press Win+R and paste the following directories* into the Open box, and press OK:
    %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
    %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    %USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
  2. Delete the info.hta and a randomly named .exe file from the directories above.
  3. Go to your Downloads folder.
  4. Delete all recently downloaded files.
  5. Scan your computer with SpyHunter.

* Different operating systems may have different directory paths.

In non-techie terms:

Cobra Ransomware is a dangerous infection that will try to rip you off by pushing you into paying a ransom fee for a decryption key. That decryption key is supposed to be issued for your files that have been encrypted by the malicious program. You should keep your money to yourself and remove Cobra Ransomware from your PC today. For further information on malware removal, please feel free to leave us a comment. Our team is always ready to assist you.